so what's wrong with me or am I just insensitive?

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when disaster strikes like a tsunami hits some island nation killing millions or when an embassy is bombed and hundreds are killed, I'm not moved in the slightest.

I guess - and this might be me rationalizing or whatever but it might be a survival instinct. I mean, if I were to sob for every soul that perished from every car bomb or from every earthquake over the past 5 years, I'd either be very depressed myself to the point of wanting to eat a bullet or extremely dehydrated from all the tears. But you know, if I did cry all those times, sooner or later, I would become numb to it.

I don't know if there's something wrong with you, but if there is, the exact same thing is wrong with me.

Ditto.

I cannot see or think of any reason we should all get all excited or be any more "moved" over every death than over every birth. Some folks do, some folks do not, and I say that is the end of that. Births and deaths are part of the reality of life ...

... and life is what needs to move us. So, I cried when my mother died without ever having learned to live, but I did not cry simply because she died ... and like has already been said, it would be impossible for any one of us to cry over every death, rape, murder, merciless beating, torture or whatever else happens every second of every day while the earth keeps revolving.

So, I think it will be sufficient for each of us to simply care about and try to comfort whoever happens to be close to us in whatever kind of life-pain he or she might be experiencing at any given moment. If I care about you and you care about somebody else who cares about somebody else who cares about somebody else who cares about somebody else who cares about somebody else who cares about somebody else who cares about somebody else who cares about somebody else who ultimately cares about me, I say all of us will do just fine!

I can relate to this.

John Elder Robison said the same thing in Look Me In The Eye, and it's true--you can't cry for every fallen leaf.

I used to cry over broken machines, though.

I don't get why some people are so bothered about trying to end natural evil ('playing God', if you will) instead of helping to change the attitudes that lead to moral evil. Maybe crying about cancer and tsunamis makes us (as a species) feel like the innocent victims, but to address the problems of war, murder, rape, and genocide would entail facing the worst side of human nature. It's like an ostrich approach, I think.

I'm not sure if this had much to do with what you were saying, it's just something I've been thinking about lately. I guess it started the other week in assembly when they were trying to get us to give money for cancer research. I don't know what it is about things like this, but I just can't seem to make myself care that much. I mean, ideally it would be great if nobody died from cancer, but let's be honest here; there is not currently a cure for cancer, so what exactly is all that money doing? I'm not sure if I'm explaining this well, but people are pouring money into the most famous cancer charities, and it just seems like a way to spend money on relieving guilt. I'd much rather give to a charity that is producing visible results, such as those that provide clean water for families in the third world. If I give some money, I know that my money actually bought something that improved someone's life. If I give that money to cancer research (for example), it probably bought some test tubes for a series of experiments that utterly failed to yield results. I guess I just don't think curing disease should be left up to the generosity of the public - it should be the government's job.

I don't think I've explained this very well, feel free to dismiss this is a random jumble of thoughts.

An ostrich does not really stick its head in the sand, I have heard, yet I believe you are saying this very well.

My parents used to talk about starving children around the world to try to keep me from wasting food, and later in life I made feel-good contributions to charities so I could escape feeling bad over my self-indulgences. But of course, that does not mean there is anything wrong with sending food to starving children.

Overall, and whether circumstantially or by intent, I believe the media-imposed focus on the global problems of war, murder, rape, and genocide are a distraction from learning to deal with ourselves and each other right here at home where we are.

i think most humans arent touched by them that much.
i dont really care. i know its sad, but like you said, if i DID care, i wouldnt be able to function. plus, they are already dead. if it was someone i knew that would be different.

There is nothing wrong with you digger1. You don't know those people, and have no connection with them.
I have been asked why I don't seem to be affected when I see news reports about people dying, getting killed, whatever, and I tell them that it's one case of many.
If I cared about every person who died anywhere, regardless of whether they knew me or were related to me in any way, I would be feeling it for around 155,000 people that die every day, I'd go insane. I treat things morally, but emotionally I am usually disconnected with people I never knew.

Oh, I care. I'm just not moved by it. I'm not one of those people who would want to mount a relief mission or anything. There are people who are, thank goodness.

y'know, not to say you're a bad person. You're not for sure.

oh, now i feel bad. . but i know what you mean.
i mean, i'd donate to help them or something, but it isnt really my business other than that....:/